After a year at the helm of one of the biggest internet companies in the world, Google CEO Larry Page has penned an open letter recapping the year gone by, outlining his goals for Google’s future and detailing numerous figures.
Google, like many other technology companies, is typically coy about releasing figures but Larry Page has provided a nice snapshot of the company to date.
He revealed that 350 million people now use web-based email app GMail and that its web browser Chrome is “growing fast” with over 200 million users to date.
“In 2006, when Google acquired YouTube, we faced a lot of skepticism,” said Page. “Today, YouTube has over 800 million monthly users uploading over an hour of video per second.”
He emphasized Android’s growth saying that “mobile innovation has never been greater” and added that “850,000 devices are activated daily through a network of 55 manufacturers and more than 300 carriers.”
Page hinted that Google+ and personalized search profiles would play a big role in next-generation search. “Imagine how much better search would be if we added… you,” speculated Page. “Today, most search results are generic, so two strangers sitting next to each other in a café will get very similar answers. Yet everyone’s life experiences are unique.”
He continued, “Google+ helps solve this problem for us because it enables Google to understand people and their connections,” adding that “ this kind of next-generation search in which Google understands real-world entities—things, not strings—will help improve our results in exciting new ways. It’s about building genuine knowledge into our search engine.”
Speaking of Google+, the social network has amassed well over 100 million users since launching in 2011. Comparatively, Twitter revealed it has 140 million active users in April while Facebook said it reached 845 million monthly active users in December 2011.
Looking ahead to the future, Page said he wants “Google to be a company that is deserving of great love.” He said the company keeps working on seemingly impossible projects like driverless cars and wearable augmented reality glasses because “it’s easier to make progress on mega-ambitious goals than on less risky projects.”
The full letter can be read here: http://investor.google.com/corporate/2012/ceo-letter.html